1. Field of the Invention
The preferred embodiments of the present invention relate, inter alia, to a straddle type vehicle, and more specifically, to a straddle type vehicle having a breather device (or breather).
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-16333 (hereinafter referred to as “JP 2005-16333 A”) discloses a breather device for an internal combustion engine small in suction amount of oil mist and capable of being installed without increasing the height and the total width of the internal combustion engine. The breather device is provided with a gas-liquid separation chamber (hereinafter referred to as an “oil catch tank”) for separating oil contained in gas discharged from a crank chamber at a side portion of a cylinder block or a cylinder head located on opposite side of a cam chain chamber or a push rod chamber with respect to a cylinder hole. Furthermore, in an internal combustion engine equipped with a generator chamber accommodating an AC (alternating-current) generator driven by a crankshaft at the end portion of the crankshaft, it is known that an oil catch tank for separating oil contained in gas discharged from a crank chamber is provided at a side portion of a cylinder block or a cylinder head and above the generator chamber, while the crank chamber is communicated with the generator chamber and the generator chamber is communicated with the inlet side of the oil catch tank (see, e.g., Japanese Patent No. 3,329,331, Japanese Patent No. 3,917,303, Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-285817, Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 5-179923).
The breather device for the internal combustion engine disclosed by JP 2005-16333 A has disadvantageous. In particular, its internal combustion engine is a four-stroke V-type two-cylinder engine. One of the cylinders is laid substantially horizontally, and the other cylinder is provided substantially vertically. The oil catch tank is provided on a side portion of the cylinder block of the upright cylinder. It is, however, preferable to provide the oil catch tank in a position as high as possible since it is also necessary to separate oil from gas introduced into the cylinder head.
In a motorcycle, a fuel tank is normally provided closely above an engine, and therefore there is no sufficient space for arranging the oil catch tank above the cylinder head. Furthermore, within a cylinder head of an OHC (Over Head Camshaft) engine, a number of components, such as, e.g., camshafts, cams, cam holders, valves, and spark plugs, are accommodated, and therefore it would be extremely difficult to arrange the oil catch tank in the cylinder head.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. For example, certain features of the preferred embodiments of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages and/or providing certain advantages, such as, e.g., disadvantages and/or advantages discussed herein, while retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.